A Message of Hope
by RememberMeWhen
Summary: Bill takes a necessary trip to the Burrow to explain to his parents, Ginny and Lupin of what he suspects happened at Malfoy Manor and the horrors the Trio have recently faced. First fanfic, please read review!


Bill arrived at the Burrow, quite flustered and in a rush. He knocked briefly before entering, taking a deep breath before the hysteria began. His father was at the table, his mother at the stove. It reminded him of when he was little and he would walk through these same doors to find the pair of them in exactly the same place. However, his father would be reading the newspaper over his spectacles and his mother wouldn't be wearing that permanent frown and large sad eyes that had manifested through the past months.

He could not blame her; she was worried for the safety of her whole family and of her three sons and husband who worked in the heart of the ministry. Not to mention Fred and George who insisted to continue working and progressing on their joke shop. But probably worst of all, her youngest son was missing: he was on the run with Harry Potter, the most wanted man in Britain, and Hermione Granger the now well known muggle-born and wanted by the ministry. The three of them were classed as dangerous, and over the past months the Order had discussed what would happen if they were caught. There was no doubt that not one of the trio would survive.

However, now he brought news of what exactly did happen if the trio were caught. Bill was not stupid, he was a curse-breaker at Gringotts. He was used to unravelling mysteries. Now, as his father's eyes jumped to his son, he raised himself slight off his chair, raising his wand.

"I'm Bill Weasley, short for William Arthur. I am married to Fleur Delacour, who attended Beuxbatons academy of magic and took part in the Triwizard Tournament in her seventh year. I am a curse-breaker at Gringotts, and quite recently, on my wedding night, my mother, Molly, decided to cut my hair, which I am now defiantly growing back," Bill said, while raising his hands in a silent surrender. His father nodded, nothing but concern in his blue eyes.

"What's wrong, Bill? We weren't expecting you."

Bill had always felt like a third parent in his family, since he was the oldest of many brothers and a sister. He felt it was his responsibility to tell his parents the truth, even though he had not told on Ron when he decided to join them for Christmas. That was Ron's business and he would not betray him.

"What is it?" his mother asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. "You're worrying me, Bill."

"First of all-"

He started but he did not finish as Lupin and Ginny had came downstairs. Ginny smiled as she took in her oldest brother, but her grin quickly vanished as she seen Bill's expression.

"It's them, isn't it? You have news on Harry, Ron and Hermione," blurted out Ginny, her face growing pale. She took a chair to lean on, staring at her brother.

Lupin froze, his mouth slightly open. His father's face looked scared as his mother darted from her chair to stand beside Bill, her eyes burning into his.

"Now before I continue, I want you all to know that they shouldn't be disturbed," he said slowly.

At once there was an outrage from his mother and from Ginny. They were both yelling at him, but he did not take it personally. They were worried, as they should be.

"What do you mean I can't see my son-"

"This is Harry, my brother and my best friend you're talking about-"

Lupin raised his hands, trying to shush them, and after a gradual amount of consideration, the two mad women calmed down. He talked more to his father than to the rest of them, for the fear of seeing his mother's familiar furious gaze and breaking under pressure.

"I'll start from the beginning, then," Bill said, beckoning for his family to take a seat. Lupin looked at Molly, who looked too concerned to be angered anymore. Ginny followed her mother, plonking herself on the chair closest to Bill, tears filling her eyes. Lupin was the last to sit down, the calmest out of them all, his lined face quite unemotional.

Bill took a deep breath, recalling the events, "Late evening, Fleur and I were in the kitchen when we heard a loud _crack_ outside. I rushed out to see what it was, when I noticed a small house elf with three companions staggering towards our house. I was confused beyond belief, but the house elf said something about 'Harry Potter' and 'in danger' and 'needs to save friends.' He had brought Dean, Luna and Ollivander with him-"

"What were they-?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," Bill interrupted Ginny's interruption. "But the elf disappeared almost immediately after we safely brought the three of them into the house. Fleur started working on their injuries and-"

"Injuries? What injuries?" Molly gasped.

He didn't answer her, but continued with his story, "I asked them what had happened, and Dean started explaining. He was on the run with Griphook the goblin when they accidentally ran into some Snatchers-"

He paused as everyone around the table, except for Lupin, gasped in surprise.

"Fenrir Greyback was among the Snatchers, but they started to get excited because apparently someone had used You-Know-Who's name, which is of course, as we already know, taboo," Bill paused, unsure of how to explain what happened next without his mother freaking out.

"Harry," Ginny said unexpectedly, "it must've been Harry."

Bill looked at his little sister. Her hands were clasped together, and she looked rather shaky. He continued with his story, "They immediately apparated, breaking through the protective enchantments around their tent. Dean said something about Harry's face was swollen. They nearly got safely out of it, but then a Snatcher noticed the Daily Prophet, where they had written that article on Hermione-" Ginny gasped and Molly put her head in her hands, "-well they put two and two together and knew they had found Harry Potter. The Snatchers brought them to Malfoy's house-"

"Malfoy manor?" Lupin asked, panic in his eyes. "They couldn't have been taken to a more dangerous place!"

"I know," Bill replied, grimly. "When they got there, they were unsure if it was Harry. Dean was a bit vague on the descriptions from this point. He didn't understand, said something about Bellatrix-"

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" Molly shrieked, red marks on her face from where she had been looking through her fingers while listening to the story. "Oh my, oh no-"

"Calm down, Molly-"

"Do not tell me to calm down, Arthur! Anything could've happened, she could've done anything to them! Especially with Greyback-"

"Mum, let me finish, and then you can freak out," Bill interrupted as Molly moaned. Ginny looked quite faint. "They had the sword of Gryffindor, don't ask me why or how, but they still have it in our house. Bellatrix wanted information, so she put the boys down in the cellar and took Hermione for questioning."

He stopped talking, knowing this would cause out roar. Everyone was talking over each other, their concern hard to hear. Bill waited until they were finished. "Dean said they heard it from the cellar, she was screaming because of the Cruciatus Curse. Ron was in hysterics, he said something about Greyback kept taunting Ron about taking Hermione. It was in the cellar they met Ollivander and Luna. Draco came down and took the Goblin, but then Dobby appeared. Dean said they wanted to help Harry and Ron save Hermione, but they insisted they went with Dobby, and so they turned up at Shell Cottage."

"But why not here?" Molly said, her eyes wide. "Why not the Burrow?"

"Too many questions, I expect. They wanted somewhere peaceful," Bill answered from the top of his head. "Don't ask me how they done it, I expect the elf was a lot of help, but a short while after Dean had finished his story, there was another loud _crack_. I ran out to see Ron running towards me, holding Hermione in his arms. I have to say, both of them didn't look good. Ron looked as if he had beaten up- his face was covered with bruises and blood from his lip. Hermione was pale and unconscious, cuts over her face and a cut along her throat," Bill swallowed, looking at his mother now, who was rocking in her chair.

"Oh my dear, my poor dears," she kept muttering.

"We brought them into the house. She was fine, she was alive. Fleur started to help her-"

"I should've been there," Molly said, her voice suddenly strong. "They needed my help. I could've fixed them."

"Mum, Fleur done a perfectly good job, thank you," Bill said tightly. "Just as Fleur began helping Hermione, there was another loud _crack_ and a cry for help."

"Harry," murmured Ginny, her eyes cloudy as she imagined the scene.

"Yes. This time he was holding the elf, and the goblin was beside him. The elf was stabbed, by a silver dagger. Unfortunately, he died and Harry took this very badly. Hermione eventually came around with the help of Fleur, and Harry and Ron's injuries weren't bad enough to sustain any terrible damage. Hermione's a little shaky, but after a good rest, she'll be fine."

"Do you know what else happened? Maybe they need some more medical attention," worried Molly.

"Harry and Ron both refused to tell me anything, but they didn't know Dean told me before they got there. They were back to work as soon as Harry buried the elf. They spent half of their time planning something before I made them go to bed. They're fighters, Mum. They got through it."

"Yes, I kn-know," stuttered Molly, leaning into her husband. "They're only children! They're only seventeen! And to experience…" she could not finish.

The Burrow was suspended into silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Everyone was struggling to believe how much three teenagers had paid for this Wizarding War, a war which seemed too big for them.


End file.
